


"Where Is He?"

by betheflame



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Injured Bucky Barnes, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Secret Relationship, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:27:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28693926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheflame/pseuds/betheflame
Summary: Tony is disproportionately panicked that Bucky's injured. Nat needs to know why.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 13
Kudos: 129
Collections: Winteriron Winter Stockings 2020





	"Where Is He?"

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Naferty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naferty/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [Naferty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naferty/pseuds/Naferty) in the [winteriron_winter_stockings_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/winteriron_winter_stockings_2020) collection. 



> **Prompt** 3\. Tony and Bucky are secretly married. Only Rhodey and Pepper know. Bucky's friends don't find out until Bucky ends up in the hospital and Tony is the only one allowed in the room because he is Bucky's husband.

“Where is he?”

Nat heard Tony before she saw him, which wasn’t that unusual.

What _was_ unusual was his tone.

“I ASKED YOU WHERE IS HE?” Tony roared at what Nat assumed was an unsuspecting orderly. “JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES. WHERE. IS. HE?”

“Stark,” she called, alerting him to her presence, “they aren’t mind readers, and he’s in surgery.”

“Surgery,” Tony repeated.

“He was thrown pretty far,” she supplied, and watched as the blood drained from Tony’s face. Within seconds, however, it was replaced and the man was obviously seething.

“I told him,” Tony muttered, “I told him _four thousand fucking times_ to not get on that bike, to not let Rogers sweet talk him into it. That thing is a goddamn death trap.”

“You helped Steve rebuild that bike,” Clint offered from the other corner of the waiting room.

“Jesus, Barton, you are so dumb,” Sam muttered from his.

Tony’s eyes snapped around the room and something in Nat stilled. There were things he wasn’t telling them, things he knew and they didn’t, and while that wasn’t unusual, it _felt_ unusual in this moment.

“They won’t tell us anything other than that, Tony,” Nat replied. “None of us are next of kin.”

Something sparked in Tony’s eyes. “I’m sure I can get us information. Where’s Rogers?”

“In X-ray,” Sam replied. “He’s fully conscious, the bike just fell on his leg.”

Tony nodded tightly, and spun on his heel.

“That was weird,” Sam muttered, and Nat agreed.

“What?” Clint asked. “What was weird?”

“He comes roaring in here like a bat out of hell, and it’s not even for his BFF Rogers,” Sam said.

“He was terrified,” Nat said quietly. “Maybe their flirting is more than that.”

Sam sat forward. “I’ve asked Buck so often.”

“Me too,” she said.

“What is going on?” Clint demanded again.

“Have you not noticed Bucky and Tony sniffing around each other for, what, a year?” Sam asked.

Clint blinked a few times. “No,” he replied slowly.

Nat snorted, and Sam rolled his eyes.

“What? I don’t pay attention to where any of you dip your wicks,” Clint said. “Or whatever the lady equivalent of that is.”

“Thank you ever so much for your inclusion of my vagina in this conversation,” Nat drolled.

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Clint said with a wink that Nat assumed was supposed to be saucy, but fell short.

“Listen,” Sam said, “Stark obviously has a thing for Buck that’s deeper than flirting over the coffee pot.”

“Bucky’s so gone on Tony that Steve has put a limit on how often Tony’s name can get mentioned when they hang out,” Nat reported.

Sam whistled _Matchmaker, Matchmaker_ from _Fiddler on the Roof,_ and Nat allowed a slow smile to creep across her face. Then she abruptly remembered where they were.

“Maybe we wait until we know how Bucky is?”

“He’s a fucking super soldier, Nat, that’s how he is,” Clint snorted. “Tony’s panic is -”

“Super soldiers can still be in comas, Barton,” Tony snapped as he re-entered the waiting room. “Super soldiers can still break bones that take a long time to heal, they can still have brain damage that only Shuri can deal with, they can still die.”

His voice wavered on the last word, and Nat’s breath caught. “Is he?”

“He’s unconscious still, so they rushed the surgery,” Tony reported. “His left lung is punctured, and there’s a lot of internal bleeding. There was some damage to the right side of his skull that may affect his hearing. He came in without his arm entirely, so -”

Nat grabbed her phone. “I’ll get someone to look for it.”

Tony waved her away. “Pep’s already on it.”

“Say,” Sam said slowly, “weren’t you not in New York today?”

Tony nodded, and Nat could see exhaustion rippling off of him. “Vancouver. Got here as fast as I could.”

Nat checked her watch. “Did you break the sound barrier?”

“Possibly,” Tony said with a shrug. “I had to be here.”

“Why?” Nat pushed.

Tony’s eyes snapped to hers.

“He’s a teammate, sure,” Nat said with a shrug, “and I know we’re all your family, and you’d rush back here for any of us, but you didn’t mention Steve’s name in your berating of the staff.”

“JARVIS had already told me he was fine,” Tony hedged.

“No,” Nat shook her head. “You like Barnes. He’s special. You gonna tell him?”

“Nat,” Tony started, and was then interrupted by a nurse.

“Mr. Stark, your husband’s surgeon wants a word.”

“Of course, Nancy,” Tony smiled warmly at the woman. “Lead the way.”

* * *

“Well, babe,” Tony said, many hours later, when he was alone at Bucky’s bedside. “I probably shocked the fuck out of them.”

Bucky’s only response was the sound of his breathing machine.

“You were right that we should have said something, that they deserved to know, I just…” Tony scraped his hands over his face. “I’ve just never had anything I loved that was completely mine. Wait, that’s a lie, I guess the suit was? But that… you’re… I still can’t believe we have what we have and I wanted it to be ours.”

Tony grabbed Bucky’s hand and ran his thumb over the back of it. “They said you’re going to be completely fine, that this whole megillah you’re in right now is just to give the serum time to do its job, but if you think for half a second that I’m letting you out of my sight anytime soon…”

“So, Sam wasn’t pulling my leg.”

Tony turned to see Steve, in a wheelchair, positioned by the door.

“No, Spangles, he wasn’t.”

Steve snorted. “I crawled to find him, you know, and I got to him right before he passed out. He told me to tell you that he loved you, and I was prepared for it to be some sort of grand declaration, and then they found this.”

Steve held up a ring.

Tony responded by taking its match out of his breast pocket.

“When?” Steve asked quietly. He wheeled himself closer.

“Last month,” Tony said.

“When did it start?”

“Oh,” Tony laughed, and was surprised to feel tears clog his throat. “Geneva, last year.”

“When you guys got trapped in the avalanche?”

Tony shrugged. “It was cold. You and I huddled for warmth so many times that I didn’t really think anything of it.”

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. “Bucky obviously thought a lot of it. He’d been into you since he got back from Wakanda.”

Tony grinned. “Who was I to deny such a handsome fella?”

Steve snorted. “But you do, you love him?”

“More than my breath, Steve.”

Steve nodded decisively. “You both deserve it, so I’m happy.”

“Nat’s not,” Tony said with a wry chuckle.

Steve waved his hand. “Nat hates not knowing things. It’s her only true defense in the world. She’ll get over it.”

Tony blinked. “You’re right.”

Steve smiled. “I know you all better than you think I do.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you,” Tony said. “He -”

“I heard you,” Steve interrupted. “Just love him, Tony. Love him well and we’re square.”

Tony nodded, and Steve took a breath. “Now, let’s talk about this nonsense that my bike is a piece of garbage.”

* * *

“So you are,” Clint said. “You two are married.”

Bucky wound his fingers through Tony’s and nodded. He’d been released from the hospital exactly forty-three minutes ago, but knew this conversation couldn’t wait. “For five weeks now.”

“Huh,” Clint said, and then shrugged. “Does this mean Bucky’s floor is free? Can I build a new archery area?”

Bucky blinked. “That’s all you… no, you fucking cannot build an archery area. Jesus, Barton. The cheek of you.”

“Are we done here?” Tony asked the room, and Bucky could feel his husband’s nervous energy radiating off of him. “Bucky and I, disgustingly in love, PDA alerts for sure, I recommend your avert your eyes when we’re together once his spleen fully recovers, the whole nine.”

“Thrilled for you, Stark,” Steve said dryly. “The PDA rules we put in place during the unfortunate Sighting of 2013 stand, however.”

“Aw, Stevie, you don’t want to see my ass?” Bucky grinned sweetly.

“I’ve seen your ass more than my own, you fucking exhibitionist. Save it for your husband,” Steve said with a wide grin.

“I receive all of your ass with pleasure,” Tony affirmed.

“Well, this is officially weird,” Sam said. “Congrats, you two.”

Steve ordered everyone else out of Tony’s living room, and onto the elevator. Bucky heard cries of protest when Clint wanted to order pizza, and Sam reminded him that it wasn’t his night to choose food. He chuckled to himself as their din quieted, and he was left with his favorite person in the world.

“I’m glad they know,” he said to Tony.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t almost die next time you want me to reveal a secret,” Tony countered.

“Deal, sweetcheeks. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tony affirmed, and arranged his body against Bucky’s so that they were cuddling, but all of Bucky’s still healing bruises weren’t being pressed. Bucky kissed the top of Tony’s head and asked JARVIS to play a movie they could both ignore. Bucky wanted to savor the feeling of Tony in his arms, and he knew Tony would last another four seconds against him before he had to pop up and fetch something that would make Bucky feel better.

He married a mother hen after being best friends with one for decades.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
